Message 10 February 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

Much has happened since last Sunday.  Monday morning at staff meeting we had a great discussion led by President Christianson in which we all learned principles and doctrines which we have not recognized previously.  We began with some great missionary related principles shared by Sister Christianson, which she had read in Clayton M. Christensen’s new book which is entitled “The Power of Everyday Missionaries”.   President Christianson then led a discussion about how the scriptures are filled with vignettes of real families with real people who have real problems and challenges and how they handled them.  These scriptures allow us the opportunity to learn from them by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.  We can learn from these real people, any truths, principles, and doctrines that our Heavenly Father knows can help us by reading, pondering, and praying about what we read in the scriptures.  Then through the Holy Ghost we can be directed and guided through our own real problems and challenges.  Many times as we receive answers through the Holy Ghost, He teaches us not just from the words in the scriptures but also from the thoughts and impressions that come into our minds and hearts.  Another very important thing we learn from the scriptures is that families really are central to Heavenly Fathers Plan for his children.  The Bible begins with Adam and Eve and their family and includes how Adam and Eve had great challenges with two of their sons, one of whom killed his brother.  Then we read about the family of Abraham, whose father tried to offer him as a sacrifice to idols.  Abraham had to leave his home and family to save the lives of his wife and family.  Then we have Moses who became a foster child of a princess of Egypt and then had to find his way back to the gospel by running away from the home he was raised in and finding Jethro and his daughter Zipporah who taught him the gospel so he would be prepared to be the prophet of the Lord who could lead the children of Israel from Egypt.  Then in the Book of Mormon it begins with Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem to save their lives.  Lehi had two sons who just never received a spiritual witness that changed their hearts.  Instead they tried to kill their younger brother who did have a spiritual witness of the gospel.  Lehi’s younger son Jacob was abused by the rudeness and meaness of his older brothers.  The examples go on and on in the scriptures.  We are not the first parents to have difficulties raising our children; it began with Adam and Eve and continues today.  The scriptures which we have, were provided by divine design and have been preserved by the hand of the Lord to be available to help us with our lives in this day and time.  We were greatly blessed by being a part of this discussion with the President and the rest of the office staff.  Monday evening we went to dinner with Elder and Sister WIllyerd and we had some good discussions to help them in their assignments.

Tuesday and Wednesday I helped Elder Willyerd with the vehicle inspections at the zone conferences for the Rochester Zone and the Palmyra North Zone.  Then in the afternoons of both days I helped him with other things that he still needed to learn.  I am confident that the new office staff will do all that is needed and required of them, and they will likely do it even better than we did because the Lord will help them as He hastens His work.  Tuesday evening President and Sister Christianson took us to dinner and we were blessed to spend some time alone with them before starting our journey home on Thursday.  Wednesday evening we attended the Site Training Meeting at the Hill Cumorah.  We had been invited to share our testimonies with the senior couples and the young Sister missionaries.  It was a heart wrenching experience filled with the Spirit.   We will greatly miss these experiences with the missionaries who teach at the church history sites.  We will also greatly miss our associations with all of the missionaries; we have received far more blessings than we deserve.

Thursday morning we began packing what we own into the car, only to discover that we could not quite get everything in.  So we ended up sending one more box of things home through UPS before we could make everything to fit.  We finally started our journey homeward about noon.  We drove southeast to Bainbridge NY and arrived about 4pm.  Brother and Sister Sherman helped us find our way to their home on the phone since the GPS could not find the address for us.  We learned later that the reason the GPS could not find Bainbridge is because the community is in the process of changing the name to Afton.  The Sherman’s were very good to us and took us to see the Josiah Stoal and Newell Knight homes.  The Sherman’s have keys to these homes so we were able to go inside them and see the interior and take pictures.  They also showed us Kelsey’s Pub where Joseph was tried on false charges.  We also drove along the road where the constable drove Joseph to jail and was supposed to turn him over to a mob that was waiting on the bend along the Susquehanna River.  The constable had a change of heart and drove through the mob and then a little farther down the road the wheel came off the wagon but Joseph and the constable were able to get the wheel back on and get a way from the mob before they caught up with them.  The Sherman’s provided a good dinner and let us stay with them for the night.  They also fed us a good breakfast and we bid them farewell and started westward about 9am Friday morning.  We drove through some light snow storms most of the day, but arrived safely in Cleveland at the mission office Friday about 4pm, where we met Elder and Sister Jacklin.  They then took us to dinner and then to their home where we spent the night with them.  We had time to visit and reminisce with them and share missionary experiences and other memories.  They also provided breakfast and more conversation.  We left their home Saturday morning about 9:30am and drove to Carthage Illinois; arriving about 8pm.  We found a motel and spent the night there.  Sunday morning we drove about 15 miles to Keokuk Iowa, across the Mississippi River and south of Nauvoo.  After church we drove back to Carthage to the Jail where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred.  Some Senior missionaries provided a tour and commentary about the events that happened there.  We then went to find a motel closer to Nauvoo; and ended up in a motel in Keokuk Iowa.  We are going to spend Monday in and around Nauvoo and then see where we will go from there.

We express our deep and abiding love for each of you and we are so appreciative of your thoughts and prayers in our behalf.  We look forward to seeing you next Saturday.

Love,

Mom & Dad, Grandma & Grandpa, Maxine &